Trophic ecology of the yellowfin notothen, Patagonotothen guntheri (Norman, 1937) at the Marine Protected Area Namuncurá‑Burdwood Bank, Argentina

COVATTI ALE, M.; FISCHER, L.; DELI ANTONI, M.; DIAZ DE ASTARLOA, JUAN M; DELPIANI, G.

POLAR BIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022 vol. 45 p. 549 - 558

0722-4060

The yellowfin notothen Patagonotothen guntheri is an important fish species in the Marine Protected Area Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank (MPAN-BB) due to its high abundance and significant ecological role. Thus, diet composition and feedinghabits were analyzed. To fulfill this purpose, percentage frequency of occurrence, prey-specific abundance, and prey-specificindex of relative importance (%PSIRI) were calculated. Generalized linear models were built for the defined prey categoriesto assess changes in feeding associated with total length, sex, depth, and zone of capture. Two hundred fifty-two specimenswere sampled (69?256 mm total length), of which 186 contained food (73.41%). According to PSIRI, ophiuroids (23.28%),unidentified polychaetes (17.92%), and Munida gregaria (12.73%) were the main prey items. However, yellowfin notothenshowed variations in diet composition according to their length and the depth of capture. The consumption of decapods andother invertebrates increased with depth, while the ingestion of ophiuroids decreased. Also, the number of polychaetes washigher in the stomach content of larger specimens. The present work provides the first description and analysis of P. guntheritrophic ecology in the MPAN-BB, concluding that it is a species with a generalist diet, which feeds on a great diversity ofboth benthic and pelagic organisms depending on availability.